Can I put this on a M101?

[Nissan11]

I must have the s-250 confused with something else. I'm sure you are correct about the weight, but this guy claims to have weighed his s-250 before his build and says it weighs 800 lbs..

S250 Camper

And with the proper air pressure, brakes, and trailer balance my truck should be able to tow what it is rated for. I pulled a horse trailer around for a bit with no problems at all, but I also have 6 extra leafs in my spring packs.

 

[tigger]

That guy never weighed it ! i weighed mine striped and it is 1800 lbs. your truck is a good truck but it cant do the work of a 3/4 ton truck you can add all the springs you want it dosent make the truck stronger

 

[123mack]

Here's the specs on an S-250 with no equipment. http://www.gichner.us/s-250.pdf

 

[Nissan11]

Tigger, the link 123mac posted says the s-250 weighs 800 lbs. Could older ones weigh twice as much as new ones?
Were the older ones made out of steel instead of aluminum?

 

[Recovry4x4]

I had an S318 on an M103A3. I know the 318 was extremely light, maybe 600#. I could slide it on the bed of the trailer by myself. When slung with the wrecker, it never made the side of the truck dip at all. I'd be surprised to find a stripped S250 that weighed more than 1000#.

Also note that an M101A3 has 55" between the inner fender wells, no mods for the shelter.

 

[rlwm211]

I have an S250 and empty it is still heavy. I would guess that foam absorbs moisture over time and that the accessories that are installed are not included in the base weight. While the access panels may seem light weight I have handled them off the shelter and they are not as light as you would think.

I have an S280 on my deuce and it is listed as weighing 1700 empty and I can tell you that is BS. Perhaps a brand new one, with no water accumulated inside the skin and absolutely without attachments or accessories, and this is for a day or two it will weigh that amount.

In this discussion, we are concentrating the weight, and the sizes of things. I would suggest concentrating on what the goals are and then figuring out what military equipment could fill the bill. Granted most of the objectives were spelled out, but I have a few questions.

How much ground clearance do you need?

How much reall offroading do you foresee doing with this rig in really difficult conditions.

By answering those additional questions you can better determine if a 4000# trailer is towable behind your rig.

Another option would be to consider finding a shelter for the back of a deuce or some other truck that is simply a shell, not insulated as much as the S250 and 280 and in that way save the extra weight that the internal bracing and such create and also a more flexible shelter to adapt to a platform such as a Military trailer. As I recall I have seen them in the classifieds from time to time. Just an idea.

RL

 

[Nissan11]

I dont need a ton of ground clearance, but 2 ft would be nice. As for the off roading, I realize that I am not going to be able to bring it with me on all of the trails. I would like to be able to cover SOME trails with it, the sections that are flat. I would also like to be able to pull it in the sand at the beach. Getting stuck isnt a huge deal, Im usually with other rigs and I have a winch.

Also, how can the trailer be leveled? Are pintle (sp?) hitches sold with different drops like standard hitches?

 

[rlwm211]

If you have a receiver on the back of your NISSAN you can get an adapter that allows you to raise and lower a Pintle as needed to level a trailer.

RL

 

[Nissan11]

I went back today to take some measurements. The shelter is 78" wide and 112" long.

There was a 3/4 ton trailer with no bed sitting beside it. It's got some surface rust but nothing deep and it looks like some sanding and paint is the biggest thing it needs. I did notice the frame rails are slightly bent right under the front cross member. Is it supposed to be like that?

It's obvious that for that ambulance body to even work on a 3/4 ton trailer that a frame would need to be build on top of the trailer frame to raise the platform up at LEAST 14" to keep the shelter from rubbing the tires. It would make for a high center of gravity. A sway bar could easily be made with quick connects but I don't know how much that would help.